The art practice of Jeff Soto occurs in the period of almost two decades and is rounded media experimentation and establishment of artist’s authentic style. The affinity for fantastical narratives makes his work hard to categorize. Whether he is producing the paintings inside of his studio or outside on the walls, the core of the process seems to be deliberation of artist’s internal fears, hopes and humor mixed with his social and environmental respectively political attitudes. By not limiting his imagination and employing spontaneity Soto is creating distinct compositions rendered by graffiti art and traditional painting in most innovative manner.
Jeff Soto was born in 1975, in Fullerton, California. Growing up in the multimember family with parents occupied with outdoor activities such are gardening, fishing and camping provided the artist with awareness about his environment and gave the perfect setting for spurring the creativity. According to that Soto’s interest in art was natural and he began to experiment with various genres and art techniques while in high school. After finished high school, in 1993 he started studying Riverside City College in a pursue of Associate Degree in Arts. Soto extended his studies by transferring to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where he specialized in Illustration.
The artist’s distinct color palette and technique are largely connected to his affiliation with street art. Soto’s fascination with graffiti culture started at the end of 80’s when he discovered the book Street Art. Soon he started stenciling alone and even formed a crew with his friends named Criminally Insane Artists while still in high school. Soto later named himself with a moniker KILO, TREK and Sotofish. In 1991 started painting with the artist Maxx242 and together in 1995 they formed Bashers Crew. A couple of years later he decided to take a break and dedicate to other means of art but returned to graffiti roots around 2009.
The apparent inspiration that Soto draws from nature is related to his background but is upgraded to a higher level. Those are not just mere depictions of animals or plants, rather the figures that he paints are a product of his influences spanning from science fiction, fantasy movies and overall atmosphere of the 80’s. On the other hand, from the standpoint of art history, Soto is very much enchanted with works of Max Ernst, Amedeo Modigliani, and Andy Warhol. Although Soto’s works may seem a bit intimidating, dark and surreal, the compositions are the reflection of his immense imagination and are thriving stories from another world.
The year 2002 can be marked as the crucial year for further development of Soto’s growing career since he started exhibiting in gallery spaces and freelance illustrator specializing in editorial work. From that point onwards his activity can be described as fully heterogeneous so the term crossover can be attached to his work. In 2007 after the show in New York, he decided to establish a apparel project Stormcloudz, the same name as the exhibition was, in order to promote his work globally.From street art roots, Soto due to the course of time has developed the authentic personal style which grows and now is nearer to Pop Surrealism then usual graffiti aesthetics. Aside from his commercial success as an illustrator and designer of both large companies and famous bands, the artist’s huge effort, experience and particular style led him to become recognized and established on American soil, as well as internationally.
References:
Featured image: Portrait of the artist in front of his work, photo credits by Prints On Wood
All images for illustrative purposes only
Year | Exhibition Title | Gallery/Museum | Solo/Group |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Nightgardens | Merry Karnowsky Gallery/KP Projects, Los Angeles CA | Solo |
2015 | OutsideIn | Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery, ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena CA | Group |
2015 | Pow Wow Taiwan | mural festival, Taipei | Group |
2015 | Vitality and Verve | Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach CA | Group |
2015 | The Art of Toys | Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA | Group |
2015 | 20 years Under the Influence of Juxtapoz | Los angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles | Group |
2015 | Pow Wow Long Beach | mural festival, Long Beach CA | Group |
2015 | Murals in the Market | mural festival, Detroit | Group |
2014 | Egregore | Galerie Yves Laroche, Montreal, Canada | Group |
2014 | Paper Party 2 | Richard & Le Feuvre Galerie, Geneva | Group |
2014 | Greetings From New York City | Urban Nation, Berlin | Group |
2014 | Greetings From New York City | Urban Nation, Berlin | Group |
2014 | 20 years Art X Mags | GiantRobot, Los Angeles | Group |
2014 | Through The Looking Glass | Riverside Art Museum,Riverside, CA | Group |
2014 | Art Truancy | Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2013 | "Fire Within", two person show with Maxx242 | Bunsen Goetz Gallery, Nuremberg, Germany | Solo |
2013 | BDX-LA: Faraway So Close, | Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles CA | Group |
2013 | Pow Wow Oahu, | Hawai | Group |
2013 | Pow Wow Oahu, | Hawai | Group |
2013 | Monopol 2 | Luxembourg City i | Group |
2012 | Decay and Overgrowth, | Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, NY | Solo |
2012 | RVA Street Art Festival, | Richmond, VA | Group |
2012 | Sea No Evil | Riverside, CA | Group |
2012 | Space and Form | Breeze Block Gallery, Portland, OR | Group |
2012 | Green Dorothy | Circus Gallery, Rome | Group |
2011 | Les Enfants Terribles | Lyon, France | Group |
2011 | HEY | Musee de Halle Saint Pierre, Paris, France | Group |
2011 | The Emmergence of the Pop Imagist | Venice, Italy | Group |
2011 | On Every Street | Samuel Owen Gallery, Greenwich, CT | Group |
2011 | La Luz de Jesus 25 | La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2011 | Underbelly | Miami, FL | Group |
2010 | Lifecycle, | Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York, NY | Solo |
2010 | Street Smart | Affirmation Arts, New York, NY | Group |
2010 | JLG 5 Year Anniversary | Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2010 | Fecal Face 10 Year Anniversary show | Luggage Factory Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2010 | Zac Pac | Tokyo Japan | Group |
2009 | "The Inland Empire" | Stolenspace, London | Solo |
2009 | “Giant Robot Biennale” | Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2009 | Chimera Curated by David Hunt | SCOPE, Miami, FL | Group |
2009 | Primary Flight | South Miami Art Center and mural in Wynwood, Miami FL | Group |
2009 | “The Whammy Show” | RVCA Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2009 | Self Portraits | Circle Culture Gallery, Berlin, Germany | Group |
2009 | The Blab Show | Copro Nason Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2009 | 15 Years of New Image Art | New Image Art, Hollywood, CA | Group |
2008 | "Turning in Circles" | Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA | Solo |
2008 | “In the Land of Retinal Delights: The Juxtapoz School” | Laguna Museum of Art, CA | Group |
2008 | “Fairfax + Haight” | RVCA Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2008 | “Robots- Evolution of a Cultural Icon” | San Jose Art Museum, San Jose, CA (traveling) | Group |
2008 | “Balls Out” | Grass Hut Gallery, Portland, OR | Group |
2008 | “The Sublime Landscape” | Project4 Gallery, Washington DC | Group |
2007 | "Storm Clouds" | Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York, NY | Solo |
2007 | BLK/MRKT at Red Dot | Miami, FL | Group |
2007 | Generalized Anxiety Disorder | Walter Maciel Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2007 | GREEN | Robert Berman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA | Group |
2007 | The Beast Within | Showroom, New York, NY | Group |
2007 | Those Damn Yanks | Leonard Street Gallery, London | Group |
2007 | Scion Installation 4 | Travelling exhibit, various cities | Group |
2007 | Fighting 4 Dreams | 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2007 | BMG Artists Annual | BLK/MRKT Gallery, Culver City, CA | Group |
2007 | Elevation | Limited Addiction Gallery, Denver, CO | Group |
2007 | One Up | Art Prostitute Gallery, Dallas, TX | Group |
2006 | "Cold Ice Age" | BLK/MRKT Gallery, Culver City, CA | Solo |
2006 | Supernova | Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, NY | Solo |
2006 | Natural and Unnatural: Imagining Landscapes | Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, NJ | Group |
2006 | Electric Wasteland: Urban Art from LA | Montseratt College of Art, Beverly, MA | Group |
2006 | It's All Wood | Renowned Gallery, Portland, OR | Group |
2006 | “Post-Deux” | GR2, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2006 | “Drawn to Expression” | Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA | Group |
2006 | “The Juxtapoz Show” | SOO Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2006 | “Typewriters” | Redletter1, Tampa, FL | Group |
2005 | Mendenhall Gallery, Pasadena, CA | Group | |
2005 | “All Star Hustlaz” | Whitewalls Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2004 | "Jeff Soto" | BLKMRKT Gallery, Culver City, CA | Solo |
2004 | Supercalligraphic” | Fuse Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2004 | Spinning Yarn | Riviera gallery, Brooklyn, NY | Group |
2004 | Tall Stories | Wignall Museum, Rancho Cucamonga, CA | Group |
2004 | The Russian Doll Show | 65 Hope Street, Brooklyn, NY | Group |
2004 | “Pop Pluralism" | Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2003 | Complete Domination OX-OP Gallery | Minneapolis, MN | Solo |
2003 | Three for Fall | La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2003 | The Hello Show | Tree House Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2003 | Looking Up | Ghetto Gloss, Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2003 | Subspecies | Recon Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2003 | Sexhibition | 1300 Gallery, Cleveland OH | Group |
2003 | Feathered Friends | Motel Gallery, Portland, OR | Group |
2003 | Crazy Bastard | New Image Art, Hollywood, CA | Group |
2003 | Robots have feelings too | Culture Cache Gallery, San Francisco, CA | (curator) |
2003 | Assembly | Front Room Gallery, Brooklyn, NY | Group |
2003 | Tres Flores | Compound Gallery, Portland, OR | Group |
2003 | Bomb Pop | C-Pop Gallery, Detroit, MI | Group |
2003 | Big Bang | OX-OP Gallery, Minneapolis, MN | Group |
2003 | Electric Wonderland | Forbidden Gallery, Dallas TX | Group |
2003 | Uncommercial Art by Commercial Artists | La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Hollywood, CA | Group |
2003 | Sci-Fi/ Western | 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2002 | The Giant Electric | New Image Art, Hollywood, CA | Group |
2002 | The Uncertainty Principle | Tin Man Alley, Philadelphia, PA | Group |
2002 | Long Drive South | Los Angeles, CA | Group |
2002 | Namenlosen | Anno Domini Gallery, San Jose, CA | Group |
2002 | Gods and Monsters | Roq La Rue Gallery, Seattle WA | Group |
2002 | Keep A Breast | Art auction at Triple Five Soul Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2002 | Curb Feelers | 1911 Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN | Group |
2002 | Superhero | New Image Art, Hollywood, CA | Group |
2002 | Four Your Eyes Only | La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Hollywood, CA | Group |
2002 | Decipher | Eighth Floor Gallery, New York, NY | Group |
2002 | New Image Art at the Stockholm Artfair, | Sweden | Group |
2002 | Uncommercial Art by Commercial Artists | La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Hollywood, CA | Group |
2002 | Bulls Eye | Tin Man Alley, Philadelphia, PA | Group |
2002 | LA's Fab Five | Culture Cache, San Francisco, CA | Group |
2001 | "Potato Stamp Dreams" | New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA | Solo |
2001 | E= | William Turner Gallery, Venice, CA | Group |
2001 | No Purchase Necessary | RCAA Gallery, Riverside, CA | Group |
2001 | The Society of Illustrators | New York, NY | Group |
2001 | Students and Mentors: An Invitational | Riverside CC Art Gallery, Riverside, CA | Group |
2001 | Paintaholics | New Image Art, Hollywood, CA | Group |
2001 | Eye Candy | 3 Deuces Gallery, Riverside, CA | Group |
2001 | Uncommercial Art by Commercial Artists | La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Hollywood, CA | Group |
2001 | Illustration West 39 | California State University Northridge, CA | Group |